[d2viant]

Do you really think LinkedIn is a chink in Facebook's armor? I question how many people regularly use LinkedIn as opposed to those who just update when their job title changes. All Facebook needs is for an intern of theirs to add a couple more features around the career section of people's profiles and LinkedIn is toast.

[theprodigy]

The transaction is very clear for linkedin, not so much for facebook.

LinkedIn gives recruiters in various companies and consulting industries a way to find passive candidates that they will not be able to find on a job board like dice, mosnter, career builder, etc.

Passive candidates are ones that are not really looking, they have the skills that the recruiter is looking for, but candidate needs to be convinced to take another job.Passive recruting tools is a huge need right now, especially for areas and industries with labor and talent shortages, ie high level tech jobs that is being talked about now.

So think of how large websites like career builder, monster, the ladders, etc are.They for the most part offer actively looking candidates. Linkedin is the only player offering a database of passive candidates that you can get in contact with, build a relationship with and track.

LinkedIn is in control of a segment of a very large market, with a very definsible competitive advantage. They won't be a game changer or the next google, but they will be positioned to make a lot of money in the future. LinkedIn provides a legitimate solution to a legitmate demand and the demand is huge.

Also, a lot of the high level tech people i've spoken to do want to keep work and personal life seperate or keep facebook life and linkedin seperate.

[yannickt]

"and LinkedIn is toast" I doubt that. I think people who take career networking seriously tend to keep their personal and professional lives separate.

[d2viant]

I'd venture to guess that nearly all LinkedIn users are on Facebook, but I don't think the opposite is true. Along with that the information recorded under both sites overlaps quite a bit. At that point it's just a matter of how and to who you show your information on Facebook. I don't think Facebook is the least bit worried about LinkedIn.

[Retric]

Hours spend doing social networking things on sites other than Facebook cost Facebook money and relevance. Also, plenty of "important" people avoid Facebook like the plague because it's a time sink, so there is plenty of pull in the other direction.

[JanezStupar]

I'm nobody important - however I resist creating a FB account and each day I am more pleased with my decision.

And I would sooner create LI account than FB. I am also very careful about what information I release about myself to the world.

But we are few and far in between.

[anonymous246]

Linkedin does a very good job of keeping me engaged.

When any of my contacts update their info, it sends me a weekly email. I like that. (And when I click on a link in the email, the web page HIGHLIGHTS the changed sections. I love that.)

The interactions on Linkedin, although fewer in number are of higher value.

And they charge to contact people outside your network. I think this is fair and lucrative to them. This seems like a steady source of income.

All in all, I'm impressed with Linkedin. They've avoided becoming sleazebags and managed to remain useful.